The Cut

The inn began as a wayhouse for drovers and winter messengers on a road that was once cleared more reliably. Locals called it the House by the Cut, after a drainage cut that ran beside the old track. The cut was filled in years ago, but the shortened name, the Cut, stuck. Greta took over the business after the previous keeper retired and kept the old ledgers rather than burn them.

Tavern · kept by Greta

The Cut

The inn began as a wayhouse for drovers and winter messengers on a road that was once cleared more reliably.

Overview

History

Quirks

The vestibule is a nuisance in bad weather: snow wedges between the doors, wet clothes drip steadily, and no one can comfortably pass without another person holding a door or shifting a boot pile. The common room is open and visible, so glances, interrupted conversations, and empty seats are easy to notice. The kitchen is almost always occupied and is the warmest room in the inn. The pantry is cooler than the hall and smells faintly of wax and old wood. The staircase complains on its third and seventh steps. The covered passage is so drafty that its lantern sometimes goes dark, and even regulars avoid lingering by the back door.

Rooms and services9

Snow vestibuleEntry
A narrow, double-doored entry where snow gets packed between the doors and wet coats and boots drip onto the flagstones. The inner door sticks when the drift piles up, so coming and going is easiest with someone holding it.
Common roomSocial space
A low-ceilinged room warmed by a broad hearth, with tables arranged so nearly everyone can see everyone else. A bench by the fire is often reserved for soaked travelers, whether they ask or not.
KitchenService
A busy, heat-hazed kitchen with a bread oven and a stew pot that rarely leaves the fire. Someone is almost always working here, making it easy to overhear a careless remark or notice food being set aside before it reaches the hall.
PantryStorage
A cold storeroom of ordinary provisions, with a locked rack for dearer bottles. Clean wooden corks, sealing wax, and a few crates too narrow for flour sacks sit among the shelves. These details may matter if someone investigates the wine deliveries.
Greta's officePrivate room
A cramped office behind the kitchen, secured by a simple lock. Its ledgers list guests, expenses, and deliveries. One old book has a damaged page with several names torn away, though there is no reason for anyone to find it on their first night.
Upper landingAccess
The staircase creaks on the third and seventh steps. From the upper landing, the doorway to the common room is difficult to see, but a person standing there can hear much of the conversation below without being easily noticed.
Covered stable passageAccess
A drafty covered passage connects the rear door to the stable. Wind whistles through its boards and can snuff out a lantern. In heavy snow, the passage is unpleasant enough that most guests use the front entrance instead.
StableAnimal care
A sturdy, plain stable with stalls for six horses, a loft for hay, and a sheltered corner for carts. The stable hand keeps a lantern burning near the inner door, but the draft sometimes puts it out.
Guest roomsLodging
Six small upstairs rooms have straw mattresses, wool blankets, and hooks for drying damp clothes. The walls are thin enough that raised voices carry between rooms.

Butter-barley bowl3 copper
Food
Thick barley porridge with salt butter, served hot enough to warm cold hands.
Cheese and winter pickles5 copper
Appetizer
Dark bread with a dish of sharp white cheese and pickled roots.
Long-pot beef stew8 copper
Main Course
A generous bowl of beef, onion, and turnip stew, kept simmering in the kitchen.
Goose and parsnip plate2 silver
Main Course
Roasted goose leg with mashed parsnips and pan gravy, available when the kitchen has a fresh bird.
Apple oatcake4 copper
Dessert
A wedge of dense oat bread baked with chopped apple and a little honey.
Mushroom pasties6 copper
Food
Small hot pastries filled with minced mushrooms, onion, and herbs.
House dark ale4 copper
Drink
A mild, dark ale served in a thick earthenware mug.
Hearth cider5 copper
Drink
A mug of spiced cider warmed beside the hearth, with cinnamon and dried peel.

People

The keeper and 7 patrons

KeeperGreta
Human expert, level 3
Human tavernkeeper and innkeeper, level 3 ExpertGreta
Practical, watchful, and brisk with anyone who blocks the kitchen door. She dislikes waste and changes the subject when asked about the old ledgers.
Half-elf courier, level 4 RogueVrzik
A quiet, keen-eyed traveler who asks when the snow began and who has used the rear passage. He listens more than he speaks.
Human drover, level 2 CommonerBorek
Blunt and good-humored until someone touches his travel papers. He claims to be a drover, though he keeps no animals here.
Dwarf peddler, level 3 ExpertKetta Draz
Direct, sharp-tongued, and pleased to debate the price of anything. She knows which regulars stop talking when Greta approaches.
Human scribe, level 1 CommonerJamil
Courteous and soft-spoken, with a habit of watching the staircase while pretending to read. He is more observant than he lets on.
Human caravan guard, level 5 FighterTomas Krel
A tired veteran who dislikes boasting and prefers to sit with his back to a wall. He offers sound advice if asked plainly.
Halfling performer, level 2 BardZsanka
Cheerful, quick with a song, and unexpectedly good at spotting when a listener has gone quiet. She does not pry unless invited.

Keeper's Species

Human

Intrigue

Intrigue · GM only

Greta is careful with her accounts, but the wine deliveries do not quite match what guests see poured in the common room. In the pantry, the clean corks, sealing wax, and oddly sized crates could point to bottles being opened, refilled, or moved without passing through the usual stores. The damaged ledger page may connect those deliveries to guests whose names were deliberately removed. On the first night, these are only details to notice, not a demand to investigate.

What locals say

This is a custom medieval roadside inn in a cold, snow-prone region of the Forgotten Realms, suitable as a safe stop for a 5th-level party without assuming a particular town or faction. Its ordinary comforts and local gossip ground it in the setting, while the questionable wine and damaged records are original scenario elements rather than established Forgotten Realms canon. Prices use the standard D&D coinage convention.

Plot hooks

1A character returning from the stable passage finds the outer door drifted nearly shut. A companion must help clear it, creating a chance for the party to coordinate or for a nearby patron to notice who was outside.

2At supper, a conversation at one table stops abruptly when Greta crosses the common room. The speakers resume only after she disappears into the kitchen.

3A character helping in the kitchen sees Greta set aside a covered dish before sending the rest of the meal out. The dish is delivered later to an upstairs room whose occupant was not seen arriving.

4A guest complains that a bottle of expensive red tastes familiar but has a different seal. Greta insists it came from her usual supplier.

5The wind puts out the lantern in the covered passage. In the brief darkness, someone can slip between the stable and the back door, but the wet snow may preserve tracks.

6A character listening from the upper landing hears two people below mention a delivery, followed by the scrape of a chair and an abrupt silence as someone approaches.

7If the party searches Greta's office, the simple lock can be picked or opened with a suitable check. The damaged ledger page offers a lead, but finding it risks Greta discovering that her records have been disturbed.

The Cut

The Cut

Overview

History

Quirks

Rooms and services9

Menu

Reserved red

People

Keeper's Species

Intrigue

What locals say

Plot hooks

Media

Turn The Cut into a sheet